Jessica Jones: A Review

Just in case you haven’t heard, another Marvel hero has graced the small screen. Well, she graces Netflix. Or rather, crashes in.

(This article is pretty late. I know. This is because someone spent the entire break binge watching and had to catch up on homework the week we got back. I regret nothing.)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe just got a little bit bigger. Hell’s Kitchen has another resident super person rising to prominence, private investigator Jessica Jones. She is blunt, stubborn, and kicks ass. After a traumatic experience, Jessica ditches the idea of becoming a superhero and opens Alias Investigations. However, her past comes back to haunt her in this dark series.

Starring Krysten Ritter as the haunted Jessica Jones, David Tennant as the captivating Kilgrave/Kevin Thompson, Rachael Taylor as Trish Walker, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

(Warning: This show features dark topics such as rape and PTSD, extreme violence, foul language, and sexual content.)

So if you haven’t watched it yet, WATCH JESSICA JONES ON NETFLIX.

Then come back and read the rest of this article. BECAUSE SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!

OH MY GOD. I LOVED IT.

I loved the entire show.I really liked the darker tone of the show and it really fit considering its themes. They talk a lot about control and the lack thereof given that Kilgrave’s power is controlling others. It forces the characters to think about their own nature. Many became scared of themselves after Kilgrave’s control, scared of what they are capable of doing and what they might do. This also led into the discussion about violation of mind and body throughout the show. Jessica describes her time under Kilgrave’s control as being raped every second of every day. Not only does he physically rape her by forcing her to have sex with him, but he also mentally rapes her by controlling her every thought. He forces her to say and do whatever he wants.

The PTSD she suffers and her guilt is just really indicative of how disturbing Kilgrave’s power is. We also see this suffering in Hope Shlottman, especially in her desperate attempts to abort the baby she had with Kilgrave, risking her own life because of how violated and disgusted she is by him.

CLAIRE. TEMPLE. I love her. She’s so awesome. I mean, super people keep coming to her all beat up and she’s just like, “I got this.” Also Rosario Dawson. Adding Claire not only added another great character to the show, but also connected the show to the other Hell’s Kitchen hero, Daredevil, and established Claire’s role in the MCU as the Night Nurse. The Night Nurse is essentially the nurse for injured heroes. But she will not take any crap.

Also adding to the MCU is Luke Cage, the man with unbreakable skin who is getting his own show in this coming year. His show will be the third series leading up to a crossover miniseries, The Defenders. In the comics, Luke Cage is Jessica’s husband, but although Cage is a love-interest for Jessica in the show, her lies might make it difficult for him to trust her again.

Fun fact: Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, was almost going to be in the show as Jessica’s best friend, but she was replaced with Trish. In the comics, Trish is Hellcat, so I’m interested in how they will incorporate this into the show.

Trish’s psychotic ex-boyfriend, Will Simpson, also poses a new problem. With his super steroids, he matches up with Jessica’s super strength, proving himself a dangerous enemy. He is also connected to the ominous organization that has had a critical background role throughout the season, especially toward the last episodes.

The show set up leads for its next season with the IGH mystery surrounding Jessica’s accident and Will’s power-up drugs. The air of mystery around this possibly sinister organisation leaves a lot of questions to be answered.

The ending. Many people thought that it was a bit anti-climactic and dissatisfying, but I thought it was perfect and fit with the show perfectly. In the end, he wasn’t someone who about big battles and not somebody that special. He died in a rather not special way. I’d like to take a moment to refer to Harry Potter. SPOILER ALERT, I guess… In the book, Voldemort died normally. There was an emphasis on how he died like a regular man, not this great evil he was made out to be. Now, they fudged that up in the movie, but they didn’t fudge it up in Jessica Jones. The great evil, this entity that everybody feared was just a man. The reality was there and I really appreciated it.

I also liked how this carried on to Jessica’s “happy ending.” She doesn’t exactly get one. She defeated her enemy but she doesn’t really get a sense of closure. She also doesn’t get a break as she returns home to phone calls begging this new hero for help with petty problems. I think that it ties the season together and is in character. It fits that life simply continues after Kilgrave with no one really caring about Jessica. There is still a lot that can be discussed about this show. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.